Coin controlled timing mechanism



Sept. 15, 1936. J M CURLESS 2,054,615

com CONTROLLED TIMING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Sept. 15, 1936. J. M. CURLESS I 2,054,615

com CONTROLLED 'TIMING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2film 17 Z i fizz/HZ? 4 James/4 Q4/1655,

Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE matic RefrigeratorCorporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationOctober 17,

. v I 8 Claims. This invention has for its object the provision of a newcoin controlled timing mechanism which issimple, compact, inexpensive,accurate and dependable. 1

While the foregoing statement is indicative in a general way of thenature of the invention, other more specific objects and advantages willbe apparent upon a full understanding of the construction, arrangementand operation of the improved mechanism.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, one embodimentofthe sameis presented herein, but it will of course be appreciated thatsuch embodiment is intended primarilyby way of exempliflcation, and thatthe invention is capable of incorporation in other forms coming equallywithin the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the mechanism, showing the cover plate of thecasing removed and the main switch in its closed position;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the easing, taken on the line 2-2of Fig. 1';

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the casing, taken on the line 3-3of Fig. 1; a I

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section through certain parts of themechanism, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front view of the cover plate at the location ofthe observation window; and Y Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front view of themechanism, corresponding to the central portion of .Fig. 1, showing themain switch in its open position.

The coin-controlled timing mechanism of the invention is compactlyhoused within a generally rectangular casing Ill. The casing is open atthe front and is provided with a cover plate II which is removably heldin position by a lock I2.

The apparatus includes an electric timing motor l3 of ordinaryconstruction which is attached to the rear face of a'vertical partitionl4 in the casing. The armature shaft of the motor I3 is connected byreduction gearing .with a slow speed shaft l5 which projects forwardlythrough an aperture It in the partition (see Fig. 1). The reductiongearing is of ordinary construction and is enclosed within a gear caseI! which is poshtioned between the motor and the partition.

The shaft I5 is provided on its front end with a smallpinion l8 whichmeshes upwardly, with alarger pinion IS. The pinion I9 is journaled on astub shaft 20 and is provided at its rear face with a small pinion 2|(see Fig. 2) which sleeve. The wheel 34 is provided on its 1930, SerialNo. 489,287

meshes with a relatively large gear 22. The gear 22 is journaled onanother stub shaft 23 and is provided at its front face with a smallpinion 24.

The pinion 24 meshes laterally with an arcuately movable planet pinion25 which is journaled on 6 the outer end of one arm 28 of a bell-cranklever 21. The lever 21 is pivotally mounted on the front end of theshaft 23. The planet pinion .25

also meshes laterally with a relatively large gear,

28 (see Fig. 4) which is journaled on a rod 29 which projects forwardlyfrom the partition.

' The free end of the arm 26 of the bell-crank lever is yieldinglymaintained in a downwardly inclined position during the rotation of themotor l3 by a tensioned coil spring 38 which extends from a stationaryhook 3| to the free end of the other arm 32 of the bell crank lever.When the motor l3 rotates, the gear 22 rotates very slowly in aclockwise direction, and the gear 28 rotates even more slowly in aclockwise direction, the

rotation of the gear 28 being due to the anchorage provided for theplanet pinion by the resistance of the. spring 30.

The gear 28 is provided with a forwardly projecting sleeve 33 on whichan escapement wheel 25 34 is journaled. The wheel 34 is torsionallyconnected to the gear 28 by a light coil spring 35 which encompasses thesleeve and is attached at one end to the wheel and'at the other end tothe rear face with a rearwardly projecting stud 36 which is disposed inthe path of revolution of a similar stud 31 on the front face of thegear 28. The spring is so arranged as to tend to rotate the wheel in aclockwise direction after the gear 28 5 has been rotated in a clockwisedirection with the wheel held against such movement.

The escapement wheel 34 is normally held against clockwise rotation byan escapement pawl 38 which is pivotally attached to a pin 39. The 40pawl 38 has a nose 4!] which is normally held by a tensioned coil spring4| in a position behind one of several teeth 42 on the periphery of thewheel.

' When the pawl 38 is oscillated in a clockwise direction, the nose 4!!on the pawl will release from the tooth 42 which it previously engaged,and another nose 43 on' the pawl will move into the path of such tooth,whereby to permit the wheel 34 to rotate in a clockwise direction underthe action of'the' spring 35 through a short are corresponding to thedistance between adjoining teeth.

The escapement pawl 38 is oscillated in a clockwise direction undercertain conditions by means of a solenoid 44. The core 45 of thesolenoid is connected to the pawl by a link 46. The solenoid isenergized to exert a pull on the link 46 whenever a coin, such as atwenty-five cent piece, is caused to drop through a vertically extendingslot 41 which is formed in a portion of a coinreceiving device 48. Thecoin is first inserted in an apertured slide 48 of ordinaryconstruction, which slide, when pushed in, will allow the coin to dropinto a hopper 50 at the upper end of the slot 41.

As the coin passes downwardly through the slot 41, it depresses a lightfinger 5| (see Fig. 3) which extends across the slot. The finger 5| ispivoted at 52 to a rearwardly projecting portion 53 of the device 48 andis provided with a cam 54 which acts, when the finger is depressed, toforce a spring contact member 55 against a normally spaced springcontact member 56. The contact members 55 and 56 are arranged in theelectrical circuit of the solenoid 44, and, as a result, the solenoid isenergized, causing the pawl 38 to permit the wheel 34 to turn in aclockwise direction under the action of the wound spring 35 throughone-ninth of a revolution, there being, in the particular constructionshown, nine teeth on the wheel. If desired, several coins may beinserted at the same time, one after the other, the wheel 34 turningone-ninth of a revolution for each coin inserted.

Before the insertion of the first coin, the stud 31 on the gear 28 willbe in a position in abutment with the stud 36 on the wheel 34. After thefirst coin has been inserted, however, the stud 36 will have been movedby the wheel into a position wherein the gear 28 will have to rotatethrough one-ninth of a revolution before the stud 31 will abut againwith the stud 36. If several coins, for instance four, have beeninserted at the same time, the stud 36 will have assumed a positionwherein the gear 28 will have to rotate through four-ninths of arevolution before the stud 31 will abut with the stud 36.

As previously stated, the gear 28 rotates very slowly in a clockwisedirection when the motor i3 is operating. When the stud 31 on the gear28 finally comes into engagement with the stud 36 on the wheel 34, thegear 28 will be prevented from rotating any farther, and the planetpinion 25, which is in mesh with the gear 28, will thereupon commence totravel upwardly in an arc. The upward movement of the pinion 25 will ofcourse impart a corresponding oscillation to .the bell-crank lever 21,the latter moving from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the positionshown in Fig. 6.

The bell-crank lever 21-is connected by a link 51 to a throw-over lever58 which is pivoted at 59 to a stationary bracket 60. An arm 6| ispivoted at 62 to the lower portion of the lever 58 and is provided atone end with a roller 63 for coaction with either one of two beveledfaces 64 and 65 on the lower pointed end of a plate 66. The plate 66 ispivoted at 61 to the bracket 60 and forms a tiltable supportfor amercury switch 68 of ordinary construction. The switch 68, whichconsists of a glass capsule partly filled with mercury, is attached to aforwardly extending portion of the plate 66 by a pair of resilientlyexpansible clamps 69. The roller 63 is pressed upwardly against eitherthe edge 64 or the edge 65 of the tiltable plate 66 by means of atensioned coil spring 10 which is attached at its lower end to the arm6|. The spring 10, acting through the roller 63 on one of the inclinedcam edges of the plate 66, serves to hold the plate, and consequentlythe switch 68, in either position into which the same is tilted.

When the bell-crank lever 21 moves into the position shown in Fig. 6, itwill oscillate the throw-over lever 58 in a clockwise direction, cansingthe roller 63 to ride under the lower ,tip of the plate 66 and cam theplate into the tilted position shown in Fig. 6, thereby tilting theswitch 68 into its open position. The switch 68 is in the circuit of themotor l3.

The switch 68 will remain in its open position until another coin isinserted. Upon insertion of another coin, the stud 36 on the wheel 34will move ahead of the stud 31 out of the way of the latter. Thetendency of the thus released gear 28 to rotate under the stored upenergy of the spring 35 will move the planet gear 25 downwardly, therebyoscillating the bell-crank lever 21 in a counterclockwise direction, andsuch movement of the bell-crank lever will cause the throw-over lever 53to oscillate in a counterclockwise direction, riding the roller 63 fromthe cam edge 64 to the cam edge 65 and resulting in the switch 68 beingtilted into its closed position.

In the particular mechanism shown, the motor l3 will start up when atwenty-five cent piece is inserted and will operate continuously for 40hours, stopping automatically at the end of that period. If more thanone twenty-five cent piece, for instance four, are inserted at the sametime, the motor will start up and will operate hours before stopping. Inorder to indicate how long the motor will run on coins previouslyinserted, it is merely necessary to look through an observation window11 in the front cover plate II and notice the position of a pointer 12with respect to a series of numerals which are arranged in a, circle onthe front face of the escapement wheel 34. The numerals commence .with"0 and run up to 8, covering the nine different positions of theescapement wheel. After the motor is automatically stopped, the pointerwill indicate "0. In that position of the pointer, the stud 31 on thecontrol gear 28 will of course be in abutment with the stud 38 on theescapement wheel. When one coin is inserted to start the motor, thepointer 12 will indicate 1". If several coins, for example four, areinserted at about the same time, the pointer will indicate "4. As theforty-hour periods of time are successively used up, the pointer willturn slowly back around the scale in a clockwise direction, indicatingaccurately at any time the number of forty-hour periods which the motorstill has to run.

The coin-controlled timing mechanism of the invention may be used for agreat many difierent. purposes, the switch 68 being intended forinclusion in the circuit of an associated electrical device.Aparticularly valuable adaptation of the mechanism, in novel cooperationwith electrical refrigeration apparatus, is disclosed in an applicationfor patent filed by Jack K. Butler on even date herewith.

I claim:

1. In a coin-controlled timing mechanism, the combination with a switchfor use in operating an associated device, of a constant speed electricmotor in a circuit controlled by the switch, coinactuated means forclosing the switch, a train of reduction gears connected with the motor,a planet gear in mesh with one of said gears, a control gear in meshwith the planet gear, stop means for stopping the control gear after ithas turned through a predetermined angle whereby to cause planetarymovement of the planet gear, 76

aosasrs means for positioning said stop means with reference to saidcontrol gear, andmeans actuated by such planetary movement for openingthe switch.

2. In a coin-controlled timing mechanism,'the combination with a switchfor use in operating an associa'teddevice, of a constant speed electricmotor in a circuitcontrolled by the switch, coinactuated meansfor-closing the switch, a train of reduction gears connected with themotor, a planet gear in mesh with one of said gears, a control gear inmesh with the planet gear, an adustably positioned stop for arrestingthe control gear after it has turned through a predetermined anglewhereby to cause planetary move ment of the planet gear, meanssupplementary to said-coin-actuated means for positioning said stop withreference to said control gear in accordance with the coins inserted,and means actuated by such planetary movement for openingcombinationwith a switch for use in operating an associated device, of a constantspeed electric motor in a circuit controlled by the switch, coinactuatedmeans for closing the switch, a train oi.v reduction gears connectedwith the motor, a planet gear in mesh with one of said gears, a controlgear in mesh with the planet gear, an adjustably positioned stop forarresting the control gear after it has turned through a predeterminedangle whereby to cause planetary movement of the planet gear, meansactuated by such planetary movementfor opening the switch, and means forchanging the position of the stop.

4. A timing mechanism of the character described comprising a constantspeed electric motor, a speed reducing gear train driven by the motor,an escapement wheel associated with one of the gears of the gear train,a tiltable mercury switch for controlling operation of the motor, meansconnecting the switch with the gear train for tilting the switch inresponse to predetermined operations of the gear train, and meansincluding a coin-operated circuit breaker controlling movement of theescapement wheel with respect to its associated gear to predetermine thetime operating period of the mechanism.

5. In coin-controlled timing means, in combination with a switch for usein controlling operation of an associated mechanism, a constant speedelectric motor, a train of reduction gears connected with the motor, alever pivoted for movement about the axis of one of the gears of saidgear train, a planet gear rotatably mounted on said lever and'driven bysaid one gear, a control gear meshing with said planet gear, a stop forarresting said control gear whereby to cause planetary movement of saidplanet gear and movement in one direction of said lever, means foropening said switch upon movement of said lever in .said direction,coin-actuated means for effecting movement of said lever in the oppositedirection and closing of the switch upon insertion of a coin, saidcoin-actuated means being adapted for reception of a plurality of coinsin-- serted one immediately after the other, andmeans supplementary tosaid coin-actuated means for positioning said stop with reference tosaid control gear in accordance with the number of coins inserted.

6. In coin-controlled timing means, in combination with a switch for usein controlling operation of an associated m, a constant speed electricmotor, coin-actuated means for closing the switch, a train of reductiongears connected with the motor, a planet gear driven by said gear train,a control gear in mesh with the planet gear, an adjustably positionedstop for arresting the control gear after it has turned through apredetermined angle whereby to cause planetary movement of the planetgear, means actuated by such planetary movement for opening the switch,and means for changing the position of the stop. v

'7. In coin-controlled timing means, in combination with a switch forcontrolling operation of an associated mechanism, a constant speedelectric motor, a movable leading element, coin controlled mechanism foradvancing said element a predetermined distance in one direction foreach coin inserted, said mechanism being adapted for reception of aplurality of coins inserted one immediately after the other withcorresponding advancement of said element, a movable following element,means effective for continuously driving said following element fromsaid motor in the same direction as saidleading element and withoutinterruption during insertion of coins, means for opening said switchwhen said following element overtakes said leading element, and meansfor closing said switch upon the insertion of a coin.

8. In a coin-controlled timing means, a casing, a switch therein forcontrolling operation of an associated mechanism, a partition withinsaid casing, a constant speed electric motor supported at the rear ofsaid partition, a movable leading element at the front of saidpartition, coin-com trolled mechanism for advancing said element apredetermined distance in one direction for each coin inserted, saidmechanism being adapted for reception of a plurality of coins insertedone im- -mediately after the other with corresponding said leadingelement, and means for clodng said 0.

switch upon the insertion of a coin.

' James M. comma.

